The Los Angeles Clippers took management within the second quarter and by no means seemed again as they beat the Denver Nuggets 117-83 in Sport 3 of their playoff collection. The massive win offers the Clippers a 2-1 lead within the best-of-seven Western Convention Quarterfinals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
The sport was performed on the Intuit Dome, the place the Clippers constructed a lead of greater than 30 factors and made issues troublesome for Denver star Nikola Jokic.
Jokic, who’s from Serbia, nonetheless managed to place up sturdy numbers with 23 factors, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists. He performed for 36 minutes, together with 5 within the ultimate quarter, earlier than each groups introduced on their bench gamers for the previous couple of minutes.
“It’s a recreation of runs. That they had a very good one and we couldn’t recuperate,” Jokic stated after the match. “They have been higher than us in each a part of the sport. We have now to battle extra, play as a crew, and never hand over.”
The Nuggets additionally suffered a blow when Russell Westbrook left the sport early attributable to a foot harm. Two different gamers, Slovenian Vlatko Cancar and Croatian Dario Saric, didn’t play. The crew is presently coached by David Adelman.
On the successful facet, Croatian centre Ivica Zubac had a strong recreation with 19 factors, 9 rebounds, a block, and an help. French ahead Nicolas Batum added 12 factors, 5 rebounds, three blocks, and two assists. Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic additionally chipped in with two factors, three assists, and one rebound.
Kawhi Leonard led the best way for the Clippers with a double-double of 21 factors and 11 rebounds, plus six assists. James Harden and Norman Powell every added 20 factors.
The following recreation (Sport 4) will even happen on the Intuit Dome this Saturday. Sport 5 is scheduled for Tuesday in Denver on the Ball Enviornment.
